Boston's biggest heist: The Gardner mystery

Sunday

Feb 22, 2009 at 7:45 AM

Just after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men wearing police uniforms knocked on the door of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, informing the guard on duty that they had received a complaint about a disturbance on the premises.

JONATHAN LOPEZ

"The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft," by Ulrich Boser (Collins. 272 pages. $25.99)

Just after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men wearing police uniforms knocked on the door of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, informing the guard on duty that they had received a complaint about a disturbance on the premises.

Once inside, the men — who were not cops — proceeded to rob the museum, taking Rembrandt's "Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee" and Vermeer's "The Concert," among other masterpieces. With an estimated $600 million in property involved, this was by far the largest art theft in modern times.

The identity of the thieves remains a mystery to this day, and the stolen artworks have never been seen again.

In his new book, "The Gardner Heist," U.S. News & World Report contributing editor Ulrich Boser provides a lively account of both the robbery and the ensuing investigation. He paints a vivid portrait of the high-stakes world of art crime, interviewing FBI agents, private detectives, thieves, fences, middlemen, and a variety of people involved with museums and the art market. Along the way, he fills in the history of Gardner Museum, comments on the artistic importance of the missing pictures, and makes perceptive observations on Boston's sometimes arcane social and cultural politics — all accomplished with admirable succinctness.

To some extent, Boser models his approach on Edward Dolnick's "The Rescue Artist," which documented the investigation into the theft of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" in 1994. Like Dolnick, Boser begins in cinematic style by picturing the Gardner thieves before the robbery, sitting in their car, outside the museum, waiting for the appropriate moment to set their plan into motion.

After narrating the theft, he then introduces art detective Harold Smith (who works for large insurers such as Lloyds of London), much as Dolnick quickly segued to the activities of Scotland Yard undercover officer Charley Hill.

Here, however, the similarities end. Whereas Hill cracked the case of "The Scream," Smith died of cancer in the middle of the Gardner investigation, leaving Boser to carry on by himself. This unexpectedly personal angle sets "The Gardner Heist" apart from previous accounts of the case, such as the excellent 2005 documentary "Stolen," by Rebecca Dryfus.

Indeed, as it develops, Boser's book becomes not merely the story of a crime but of an author's obsession with solving it.

Although "The Gardner Heist" does not break the case, Boser does provide a detailed, thoughtful analysis of the theories that have been considered most actively by the authorities, giving special attention to the so-called Irish connection — the idea that Irish-American mobsters from Boston's South End may have carried out the theft to aid the IRA. He ultimately finds several clues to support this hypothesis, but not enough hard evidence to draw a conclusion.

He does, however, become convinced, based on eyewitness testimony and personal interviews, that the mastermind of the Gardner robbery was David Turner, who is currently serving a 38-year sentence for armed robbery. Boser's argument involves a fair amount of speculation, but his deductions seem both plausible and well reasoned. Indeed they seem to have gained a measure of tacit approval from Turner, who suggested during one of Boser's prison interviews that his own smiling face ought to adorn the cover of "The Gardner Heist."

Boser sometimes gets his background details wrong, particularly where art history is concerned. But "The Gardner Heist" still is an informative and enjoyable book, whose genial style and short, easily digested chapters would make it a great vacation or airplane read.